Manu sizes up Miami’s swift defense

After back-to-back road games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Spurs had a day off from practice on Thursday. But tonight’s opponent at the AT&T Center, the Miami Heat, was a topic for discussion before the team’s return flight from Cleveland touched down at San Antonio International Airport in the wee hours of Thursday.

“We will start talking about them soon,” All-Star guard Manu Ginobili said before departing the visitors locker room at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. “They are a very good defensive team, very athletic getting in the passing lanes and hedging and rotating. We’re going to have to be very careful with the ball, mainly, and drive the ball fullcourt because you don’t have a lot of chances.

“I think we’re in a good situation. We’re going to have to move them around. Without Tony (Parker) it’s not the same.”

The Spurs are 1-1 since Parker, the team’s assists leader and No. 2 scorer, was diagnosed with a strained left calf that will keep him sidelined for two-to-four weeks.

WHO’S THE BEST? An assertion made in Wednesday’s postgame locker room by forward Matt Bonner sparked a heated debate among his teammates.

Bonner believes that when it comes to uncontested 3-point shots he is the best there is.

Anywhere.

Bonner can point to his league-leading 51.3 percent 3-point shooting to back his boast, but some of his teammates pointed out that Gary Neal, the Spurs rookie who has made 41 percent of his shots from long range, attempts many more difficult 3-pointers than does Bonner.

Before they departed the locker room, Ginobili and forward Richard Jefferson had made plans to set up a stand-still 3-point contest between the two in the near future.

The contest got the sanction of team captain Tim Duncan, who agrees that both Spurs are great 3-point shooters.

“I’m leaning to Matty right now, but I think Gary is cocky enough to be relevant,” Duncan said. “It will be fun.”

SIGNING EXPECTED: The Spurs are expected to sign Othyus Jeffers, a 6-foot-5 guard-forward most recently with the D-League’s Iowa Energy, to a 10-day contract. In 37 games with the Energy, Jeffers has averaged 21.2 points, on 48 percent shooting. The second 10-day contract of forward Steve Novak expired on Thursday and Jeffers will replace him as the 13th player on the roster.